Square – 1985 Developer Interview

Overnight, Square has made a name for itself in the gaming world with Will, a sci-fi hard-boiled adventure featuring captivating anime graphics. Their momentum shows no signs of slowing, with rumors that they'll release a new anime game in December that far surpasses Will. Hearing this, Login rushed straight to Square's core Planning and Development Department.

By now, you've all heard of Will, Square's hard-boiled sci-fi adventure (or perhaps "anime adventure" is a quicker way to describe it). It entered the national Top 20 in our November issue, ranking in the Best 5. As an adventure game, it's the biggest hit since T&E Soft's Planet Memphis.

Its success has spread Square's name even wider than before. It's no exaggeration to say that this single title has cemented the image of Square as a company focused on anime-style graphics.

However, Square didn't start out with its current fame (?!?) or anime orientation. Their debut adventure game, Death Trap, had no anime stylings whatsoever. On the contrary, its story had a gritty, hard-boiled touch, and the graphics were plain.

So, how exactly did Square end up making Will, which is a complete 180 that appeals to anime-loving boys? And where will this new path take them from here? To find out more, we spoke with three central figures from Square's core Planning and Development Department: Mr. Sakaguchi, Mr. Tanaka, and Mr. Aoki.

The development of Square's debut title, Death Trap, began in early 1984. At that time, planning and development were handled by just two people: Sakaguchi and Tanaka. They were both the same age and had attended the same university. Moreover, they were both Apple fanatics who were particularly obsessed with RPGs and adventure games. It appears that Ultima II was a hugely formative experience for them. Sakaguchi reportedly stayed at Tanaka's apartment constantly, taking turns staying awake to keep playing the game, and they completed every single map in that vast world. Wow…

Now, at Square, these two megafans were on the other side, making the games. As one might imagine, they took a severe "no compromises allowed!" stance with the development of Death Trap. Their efforts paid off: Death Trap was a refined, connoisseur-level adventure game with a sophisticated story, the very embodiment of the adventure genre.

"But," Sakaguchi says with a laugh, "while it was highly regarded as a 'work of art', it was just too niche. It was also a time when the boom was shifting from adventure games to RPGs, so it didn't sell particularly well.”

I did think it was a bit too niche, but it was highly regarded by the staff here at Login.

Next, as you know, came Will. As Tanaka was working on Genesis at the time, Sakaguchi handled this project on his own.

"With Will, we decided from the start to go for a wider appeal. That's why we included beautiful girls and mecha. Also, when I first saw the game's opening beach scene, I remarked, "We really should animate the waves," and after seeing that in action, it was so good it made me double down further on the anime aesthetic. And it turned out to be a big hit."

The popularity of Will is truly incredible. Thanks to this hit, Sakaguchi was able to take a week-long trip to Bali. I'm jealous!

Meanwhile Hiromichi Tanaka, the other creator of Death Trap, was not about to abandon sci-fi and robots. While Sakaguchi was making Will, Tanaka was moving towards RPGs rather than adventure games. We're talking, of course, about the recently released Genesis.

As an Apple fanatic, Tanaka was passionate about Ultima and Wizardry as mentioned earlier, but he also felt something was missing.

"In Genesis, I wanted to place more emphasis on the story. You progress through the game solving each mystery one by one, and when you solve the final one, the circle of mysteries connects and becomes clear, revealing an even greater truth."

Tanaka likely wanted to convey that even RPGs with branching paths deserve a story depth as good as a detective novel. This rigorous approach to storytelling, evident since Death Trap, is also reflected in Genesis.

Just as Sakaguchi introduced the novel "anime aesthetic" to adventure games, Tanaka brought something new to RPGs: the 3D battle mode. Their mutual rivalry seems to be stimulating each other in a positive way.

The third member of the planning and development team was Kazuhiko Aoki. Unfortunately, no software developed by him has yet been commercialized. Well, actually, there was a title scheduled for release around the same time as Genesis. Many people likely saw it advertised or in catalogs. It was the phantom known as Amtrack.

This software was one of the few multiplayer management simulation games in Japan, supporting up to four players simultaneously. It was an ambitious game where you built a railway network across the vast American continent, in the good old days of the Wild West. However, the development was temporarily halted, and its release was postponed until next spring. Development delays, you suspect? No, at the point it was introduced in the new software section of the September issue of Login, it was already about 90% complete.

So why the delay? Well, it's because Mr. Aoki joined the development team for a new RPG scheduled for release in December. We'll share the secret details about that new title in a moment, but first, a word of apology from Square regarding Amtrack: "We apologize for the delay in releasing Amtrack, and for geting everyone excited with the advertisements. We will definitely release it next spring!”

To those who saw the ad and were looking forward to it, hang in there a little longer!

Tetsu Saito, Square's Vice President, spoke about these three individuals--the "think tank" of Square--with genuine enthusiasm:

"Well, I don't know much about games, so I leave planning and development entirely to them. Of course, we make the final sales decisions. But I trust their youthful sensibilities, which are closer to the people who actually buy and play the software."

But precisely because he trusts their abilities completely, Saito has high expectations for them and often makes unreasonable demands. Even so, they always manage to make it happen--or die trying!

Saito continues: "RPGs, adventure games, action games… there are so many types of software we want to try our hand at. But for now, we want to develop another game that prominently features our acclaimed anime aesthetic and solidify the image of "Square, the Anime Game Creators" that we established with Will. Yes, we want to hear people proclaim, 'Square's anime games are the best in Japan!!!'…"

His tone is calm yet passionate, and strangely persuasive.

A vision opening up from the past to the present, and leading into the future. Seeing their fervent gaze and dedication to game software development, our interview team was assured of one thing: "Square's future is bright!"

Now, let's introduce Square's long-awaited new title, Cruise Chaser Blassty.

The highlight of this software is that Japan Sunrise, famous for Z Gundam, designed the mecha in the game. When Square staff first pitched this idea to Japan Sunrise, they worried, "Would a TV anime production company really design mecha for a game?" But that worry was unnecessary. As it turned out, Sunrise Japan was also looking to do something using computers as a medium. And luckily, the contact person at the time, Mr. Inoue from Sunrise Japan's Planning Department (who still handles this work today), was a fan of PC games. So this proposal was a godsend. There was no hesitation on either side.

The development of Amtrack was temporarily halted to focus on planning and developing this software. Aoki was reassigned to the development team alongside Sakaguchi. You'd think he'd be frustrated, with Amtrack so close to completion, but instead, he was grinning from ear to ear.

And no wonder. Aoki is the number one anime fan at Square. Not just your average fan either. He's a hardcore enthusiast. He photographed each frame of his high-end Gundam MKII model, and used those photos to create some of the storyboards for the animated sections of Blassty. It's incredible.

The mecha designed by Aoki, such a huge anime fan, will be designed and animated by the legendary Sunrise. As Square's resident anime megafan, nothing could be more thrilling. I totally get that grin now.

The story about when the deal was sealed, and it was finally time for the design meeting, is an interesting one. Mr. Aoki and Mr. Sakaguchi share a wry smile and explain: "We went in thinking it'd be a casual ‘Please design a robot’ kind of thing, but they immediately hit us with ‘What's the height in meters? How many vernier units?’ It made me think, wow, this is a whole other world."

Realizing that a vague request wouldn't do, the two went back and created a detailed proposal for Sunrise Japan. But their efforts paid off; the finished mecha look perfect. It's so well done it holds its own against tv anime. Just look at the animation cel above and you'll see what I mean.

Another highlight of Blassty is that this mecha actually moves. The mecha animation, which occurs within a window taking up about a quarter of the screen, is redrawn at a staggering 12 frames per second! Of course, with the animation production handled by Sunrise, even complex transformation patterns are rendered with undeniable fluidity. It raises the question: "Will PC games one day surpass TV animation...!?"

The unprecedented SF anime RPG Cruise Chaser Blassty is scheduled for release in December. What kind of story will it tell? What kind of weapons will we be treated to?! Let's hold our breath for one more month.

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